Springfield....Mt. Vernon resident and Reverend Les Sinks of the Anna First Baptist Church provided the opening Prayer during legislative session in Springfield on Thursday, September 24, 2015. Reverend Sinks was the guest of 115th District State Representative Terri Bryant.

Rep. Bryant is pictured here with Reverend Les Sinks, a Mt. Vernon resident and the Pastor at the Anna First Baptist Church

DeSoto….State Rep. Terri Bryant (R-Murphysboro) and village officials from the Village of DeSoto joined together today to unveil signage renaming a stretch of highway on Rte. 149 east to Hurst as “Veterans Memorial Highway”.

Rep. Bryant addresses a large crowd
gathered for the ceremony.

The renaming of this stretch of Rte. 149 was made possible by House Joint Resolution 81, with final passage through the Senate on August 5, 2015. Rep. Bryant and Senator Dave Luechtefeld were the Chief sponsors of the resolution in the House and Senate respectively.In 2001, planning to build a memorial in the community to DeSoto’s veteran’s of the armed services began. The existing veterans’ memorial was built almost entirely with private donations. DeSoto resident and World War II veteran Jesse Crow designed the 6 ½ foot tall black granite monument; it sits on a triangular island of land bordered by Illinois 149 and Pine and Lincoln Streets.

Pictured here are Jesse Crow, Rep. Bryant and Village President John Evans displaying the newly unveiled Veterans Memorial Highway sign on Rte. 149 in DeSoto.

The monument is engraved with the emblems of all the branches of the military and is flanked by matching black granite benches. It also bears the names of all DeSoto’s past and future veterans regardless of whether they served in a time of war or peace.The ceremony was arranged by DeSoto Village President John Evans, and members of the Village staff.

A large crowd gathered today to take part in the renaming ceremony and witness the unveiling of the new signs naming Rte. 149 from DeSoto East to Hurst as Veterans Memorial Highway.

Rep. Bryant also presented the Village of DeSoto with a flag that was flown above the State Capitol in Springfield as a part of the dedication. Pictured below are images of the Veterans Memorial as well as Rep. Bryant with Village President John Evans and WW II Veteran and DeSoto resident Jesse Crow.

The Roll of Honor bears the name of members of the Armed Forces from DeSoto, both past and present

Mt. Vernon....State Rep. Terri Bryant (R-Murphysboro) presented St. Mary's Elementary School in Mt. Vernon with a new United States Flag on Friday. The flag had previously been flown over the State Capitol building in Springfield. The request for the new flag was made by school officials.

School officials raise the flag.

Rep. Bryant shakes hands with
St. Mary's students.

Rep. Bryant joins students for the Pledge of Allegiance.

Rep. Bryant made a short presentation on the history of the flag and answered questions from students before the flag raising ceremony. Rep. Bryant and the students also recited the

Murphysboro….State Rep. Terri Bryant (R-Murphysboro) and village officials from the village of DeSoto will join together to unveil signage renaming a stretch of highway from Rte. 149 east to Rte. 51 as “Veterans’ Memorial Highway” on Tuesday, September 22. Media and the public are invited to attend the unveiling of the signs and presentation of the House Joint Resolution. Rep. Bryant will also present the Village of DeSoto with a flag that has been flown above the State Capitol in Springfield as a part of the dedication.

The renaming of this stretch of Rte. 149 was made possible by House Joint Resolution 81, with final passage through the Senate on August 5, 2015. Rep. Bryant and Senator Dave Luechtefeld were the chief sponsors of the resolution in the House and Senate respectively.

Murphysboro….State Rep. Terri Bryant (R-Murphysboro) has issued reaction to an announcement late Thursday afternoon that Governor Rauner and negotiators for the State of Illinois’ largest public employee union, AFSCME, have agreed to extend the terms of the current contract agreement indefinitely until a full contract is ratified.

For months, the Governor’s office and AFSCME have been engaged in negotiations aimed at reaching a new contract for state employees. Information from both sides of the negotiations has been disseminated through various media outlets, with each side accusing the other of refusing to negotiate in good faith and demanding concessions that were unacceptable. “Throughout the negotiations, I have called on both sides to moderate their tone and to negotiate in good faith and remain at the bargaining table for as long as it takes to come to an agreement,” Bryant said.In the instance of the attempt to override Governor Rauner’s veto of SB 1229, Bryant remained consistent in not voting on the legislation, insisting that the bill was not necessary if both sides continued good-faith negotiations. “I have consistently stated that SB 1229 was unnecessary because I believe the contract should be settled through negotiations, not legislative interference,” Bryant said. On the day of the attempted veto override vote, Bryant received a letter from Governor Rauner stating that he would negotiate in good faith, that he would not force a strike, and that he would not lock out workers, and that he would agree to extend the tolling agreement, or current contract terms, as long as it would take to reach an agreement. A copy of that letter can be found at www.repbryant.com.“Less than ten days after getting a promise in writing from the Governor to continue negotiating as long as it takes to get an agreement, the administration and AFSCME have agreed to extend the current contract indefinitely until a new contract is reached,” Bryant said. “I believe the Governor has kept his word. I also want to applaud AFSCME for agreeing to stay at the table with the Governor to work this out. The prudent thing to do now is to protect the interests of vital public services provided by AFSCME workers and to be realistic about the financial condition of our beloved state.”

I have had a lot of comments and calls on SB1229, many positive and many negative. Many of my friends who work for the state are being told they will be forced to strike. I asked for assurance from the Governor's office that this is not the case. Below you will see a letter, with the Governor's signature, that explicitly states that he wants to extend the tolling agreement indefinitely. This means no lockout, no strike, and continued operations under the prior contract. Please read the entire letter.

Please feel free to review the letter below and call me if you would like to discuss this further at 618-242-8115 or email me at Bryant@ILHouseGOP.org

Springfield…. Following the House defeat of an override motion on Gov. Rauner’s veto of SB 1229, State Representative Terri Bryant (R-Murphysboro) issued the following statement:

“I have heard from hundreds of constituents concerned with the possible veto override of SB 1229. Folks from all walks of life expressed their opinions on both sides of the issue. In the end, the number of phone calls and messages I received imploring me to vote to sustain and to vote to override the Governor’s veto of SB 1229 was very nearly even.